Garethx

What are the differences Dean? Don't have my US issue any more.

I think the deal with the Charles Johnson 45 was that an initial quantity made it into the mainstream importers like Record Corner, Spin Inn and others. By the time it had become popular on the Northern Scene, TK was experiencing financial meltdown, but John Anderson managed to find stock at a distributors. At this point it became 'rare'.

Scrub Board? I think it's just because of the great ballad on the flip. US issues with both sides are seldom seen to this day.

I think this is the rarest Volt 45 and 'Flame' is an absolutely superb slow builder of a record.

I think 45-44012, The Salt "Lucifer" in late 1968 is the first to have the dark red label on issue copies. The first plant to do these was Specialty in Pennsylvania. Other plants like Monarch and Plastic Products persevered with the blue stock labels for at least another year. Worth mentioning that Monarch didn't use the proprietary logo on their copies of the light blue label issues, instead using an approximation in Brush Script-like type.

On a wider note the demographic make up (such as there has ever specifically been one) of the Northern Soul scene has never defined it. I think people got into it because they liked the music and the social aspects of the scene. Any sense of identity or belonging stemmed from those factors alone. Fellow soul fans were your peers because of the love of the music and the scene, not because they looked or sounded like you.

Ian—that echoes pretty much everything I've ever heard first hand on the subject. Ady—I don't know if that Craig Charles quote was specifically for this article or whether it's been plucked from another source.

I don't even know why that highly suspect Craig Charles quote on the Northern scene was shoe-horned into an article looking at vocalists who are singing in a retro Southern Soul style. It's completely irrelevant. All the artists mentioned are sub-standard in my opinion. Classic soul was a moment in time and the only people who can still do it are veterans—Otis Clay, Bettye Lavette, Charles Bradley, Lee Fields. The singers who are under forty have no first hand link to the Gospel giants who define the style. This neo-soul is diluted so much it has no integrity whatsoever. It's a grafting on of highly specific, hackneyed stylistic flourishes to pop music with no more authenticity than that of Amy Winehouse. Probably far less in fact. Criag Charles and the Guardian journalists should thank their lucky stars that the Rare Soul scenes in the UK, Europe and Japan kept any interest in real soul music alive for forty years. For us it was far more than a fashion. It was a way of life—the stuff of life itself—but they'll never, never understand that. Some of the comments under the article made my blood boil.

I've always wondered if the C. Henry Hall and Carl Henry Hall credits on the Mercury 45s weren't to emphasise to DJs that he was in fact a male singer and not to misrepresent him as 'Carol Hall'. I think he's one of the greatest African American vocalists but have to state that his recorded secular output largely under-represents his talents. Of the Mercury singles only the staggering last moments of the otherwise middle-of-the-road 'I Believe' and his blistering take on 'Summertime' are artistically satisfying. The Jerry Ragovoy-inspired recordings on Loma/Warners are over-rated to me: I know that's a view which will be in the minority but I just don't think the material is strong enough. Howard Tate and Lorraine Ellison got the cream of Ragovoy's songs it seems, but I would have loved to see what Carl Hall could have done with 'I Learned It All The Hard Way' etc, which is not to say that Howard Tate didn't produce soul music of the highest quality at these sessions. The Atlantic single is so-so and only really the Columbia double-sider shows anything like the full range of what he was capable of artistically. I get the feeling he only sang R&B for the money and saw his real calling in musical theatre.

This source claims Carl Hall died in September 1999. https://opalnations.com/files/Rasberry_Raymond_Singers.pdf The article contains as much biographical information on him as I've seen.

The slower intro mix is pretty tough to find. Both have exactly the same labels I think…

There are two distinct presses or mixes for this release if memory serves. There should be a thread in the Look At Your Box archive with more detail.

That would be the former Walden agency in Macon.

Cool.

John I wouldn't expect that mark to be on that copy. As Butch pointed out above the run-out is thicker on your copy which suggests different mastering. I know John Richbourg companies had a history of reissuing stuff periodically for different markets—the Sound pressings of Little Richie etc. spring to mind—so calling the 'Cape Ann' copies outright bootlegs without specific proof is difficult. Cape Ann was one of Richbourg's publishing companies and is on dozens of records across his labels. Having said all that if I was buying copies at today's prices I'd steer clear of the 'Cape Ann' ones. The white demo on 77 has the markings I describe above.

The 'Three Cheers Music' yellow label copy has a small scratched-in device or logo a couple of inches to the right of the matrix number. It's a small, faint 'W' over an 'M' with an 'E' next to it. Do the Cape Ann Music copies also have this?

Now sorted. Thanks for all replies.

FOR SALE SAM DEES ‘EASIER TO SAY THAN DO’/ ‘SOUL SISTER’ LO LO L-2306 VG++ Very clean copy of this in-demander. SOLD. TIA for any interest, gareth

Hi Looking for a clean copy of Sam Dees "Easier To Say Than Do"/ "Easier To Say Than Do" Lo Lo L-2306 Not looking for the version with "Soul Sister" on the reverse. TIA

It's easy to forget that the bigger importers were able to buy many of these titles in relatively vast quantities. Ronnie Forte was readily available as a 'dormant oldie' for years, as were things like Billy Hambric on Drum or Larry Atkins on Highland. Then there were titles like El Anthony on La Cindy or Ronnie McCain on Triode or Reggie Soul on Capri which were considered too common to play out. Over a thirty-plus year period those quantities get whittled away. If the records are good they tend to stay in collections. Gene Woodbury 'Ever Again' is a classic example and there are dozens more.

PS The sleeve of the original is grey board on the reverse.

Original is 'S T E R L I N G' stamped. Only other marks are the scratched in matrices: CAT 2614 A and CAT 2614 B.

Agreed. A very interesting thread.

Ronnie Forte=Ronnie McCain?

Frank Fioravanti has actually posted a comment on the youtube clip for this. He did a few records on Bill Harner, at least one of which went on to get national release. I agree with the comments regarding the record's quality. Maybe a standard-bearer in the rarity-over-quality debate, although it is genuinely scarce.